Tuesday, September 30, 2014

SEPTEMBER... THE MOST DELICIOUS MONTH

It happens usually in mid August. There will be an evening when the air carries
a little extra chill and suddenly you become aware that autumn is waiting in
the wings of the day, just beyond your perception. It is the gentlest of whispers, carried on
the breeze that signals summer is in decline and we are actually slipping
slowly and quietly into autumn. My cats
usually pick up on this subtle change in the air too and they have already
staked out their favourite places to sleep in various parts of the house, their
summer wanderlust exhausted.

Perhaps it’s our Celtic DNA but I
have no doubt that the old Irish calendar is right and we are now in Mean
Fomhair – the middle of autumn. The
leaves have yet to turn and the weather is still mild but summer is over. We have arrived at the evening of the year.

September is a particularly
delicious month. After the slack
routines and exertions of summer, order is restored as the children return to
their studies. The new academic year
offers us all a chance for a new beginning.
Another chance to make the changes to our lives or lifestyles we may
have pondered as we lay soaking up the rays of summer sunshine. September is a hopeful month and yet a month
that makes no demands of us with no festivals or bank holidays. It is not surprising that in a recent survey
in the UK less than one percent of those surveyed nominated September as the
most stressful month of the year. The
most stressful honour went, unsurprisingly to January, followed closely by
December.

But what makes September
particularly worth savouring is that it is a month which signals a slowing
down. Autumn is when Mother Nature draws
her energy inward, as the leaves fall and the earth prepares for the long winter
sleep. Me, I make preparations for the
long winter nights. September makes me
look again at my living space to see how I might make it cosy and warm. All it might take is a new throw for the sofa
and a load of wood logs in the basket ready for the first fire. By the end of the month I will have made the
excursion under my bed to retrieve the storage boxes that hold my winter hoodies
and fleeces, clothes that only require any old body as opposed to a supposedly
‘beach ready body’ we need for summer wear. Which is just as well as September
is all about my kind of food.

In preparation for the frugal
winter, nature is giving up her harvest.
Orchards are full of fallen apples and anyone can savour the rich bounty
of the hedgerows which are now bursting with berries. It is the month for apple and blackberry
crumble and time to replace cream with warm custard. It is the month when menus change – domestic ones
anyway, with the welcome reintroduction of warming food like shepherd’s pie,
bangers and mash and big pots of spicy vegetable soup. Slowing down and comfort food, what more
could you want?

But there is more. September is also the most sensual of
months. The air smells different
carrying perhaps a hint of wood smoke or bonfire. The light softens, lending a warm glow to the
landscape as the sun moves away from us.
The countryside and parks are a riot of autumnal colour in hues of russet
and gold and red and orange. It is a
month to get out and walk, savouring the smells, the colours and the sound of
leaves crunching underfoot. And a chance
to visit your inner child by reliving the thrill of finding and collecting
pocketfuls of wine-red shiny chestnuts.

September is like climbing into
your own freshly made bed after a wonderful, busy, fun holiday. It is like coming home after a hard day’s
work to a warm welcoming house, closing your front door and knowing you won’t
have to venture out into the world again till tomorrow. It’s like putting on your comfiest slippers
after a day in fabulous but rather painful shoes. It’s the feeling that all is well with the
world that sometimes comes with the first sip of red wine. September is all about just being rather than
doing.

Maybe in a former life I was a
bear. Perhaps that is why I love this month
so much. But I am ready to waddle, book
in one hand, hot chocolate in the other, into my fireside where I will park
myself on a comfy chair, put a soft blanket over my legs and a cat on my lap
and I will while away many happy evenings.
And best of all about September?
It precedes October. Oh how I
love October.

7 comments:

Generally, even with its beauty, autumn makes me sad... I live in Canada, where winter follows this colourful season with a vengeance. And I loathe winter. But this lovely essay reminds me to breathe in and enjoy THIS season, so thank you so much for writing and sharing it!

I love September too. To me it means colourful leaves, red apples, bonfire with potatoes baked in its ashes & my birthday. Love your comparison of climbing to own bed after holidays. Can't wait to hear why you like October though, so curious now.